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The city of Metropolis. The shining beacon of the very best that humanity can be, and even towards dusk the lights of the majestic urbanscape tower high into the sky. And under most normal circumstances, where the light does not reach, the radar of the local airport and numerous satellites above can also discern.

It is not a normal circumstance to have an exceptionally slow-flying humanoid shape flying near the flight paths to Metropolis International at approximately twenty thousand feet, however, and especially not at dusk. An alert and perceptive observer with keen senses may be able to make out the cause for concern, as it doesn't appear to be deviating from a course towards the center of Metropolis…

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

"Thank you for your help, Superman. I'm not sure how we would have been able to get these families all in homes before autumn without your help."

In a seedy part of town where burned out buildings, drug use, and violence were all rampant, the landscape has been change dramatically. The old buildings have been torn down, carted away, recycled and the money for the scrap was donated back to the civic project that was helping build affordable housing to struggling Detroit families.

This winter is prepping to be very cold in this part of the country.

"No problem, Mayor. It's the least I can do."

Rather than ghettos in the sky, these are all small, single family bungalows with perfectly manicured lawns and streets and sidewalks that have been redone.

"If this is the least you can do, I'd be surprised to see what the most you could do would be. This would have taken years to do. With your help, it's only taken a few days."

"I'm happy to help, Mr. Mayor," Superman says with a solemn nod. But, just as he does his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Sir, I'm sorry I have to go. There's trouble in Metropolis."

_ _ _ _

In the sky over Metropolis, Superman races to see what in the world could be causing the disturbance. His worst fear is what causes him to hurry so. An attack on Metropolis is something he fears constantly in the back of his mind.

Arms out in front of him, cape stretched back and rippling in the wind, Superman pushes forth, faster and faster in an attempt to get there in time to prevent whatever is about to happen…from happening.

Corvinus had heard tales of Metropolis, of how enlightened the people there were, how it was the 'perfect' city to not only live in but work in. So this evening's joyfly is blissfully ignorant of the dangers of commercial airliners, 'no-fly' zones, and other such niceties that the average flying sort should at least be aware of. Its partner attempted to warn it of such things, but given the bliss and ability to actually get into the air, away from the grit and pollution of New York City it may have forgotten about those warnings.

Eyes from a distance with superior vision and a lightning computer for a mind may easily pick out that within moments an ascending 747-400 from United Airlines will not only collide with the strange winged humanoid, but it may suffer severe damage from an overlarge bird in the jet engine. A normal bird would be bad enough, but if the entity has the same mass as a human or there-abouts, well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the result.

Superman's blue eyes peer down at the jet and its trajectory and then over to Corvinus with stark concern. He blazes along, pushing himself to his limits in hopes of getting to the winged creature before the unspeakable happens.

But it's tricky.

Getting there won't be a problem, but hitting Corvinus with as much speed as he's travelling will rip the beast in two. Instead, Superman takes the force upon himself, coming to a stop a split second before he hits Corvinus, only to accelerate into a tackle at a slower less lethal rate.

Superman reaches around Corvinus and twirls in a barrel roll, taking the latter with him as they barely avoid the oncoming plane that roars by them.

The roar of the jet's engines are what get the obsidian bird-being's ear and attention first, and just as it was about to try and take a far-too-late corrective measure to get down and out of the way it is impacted by a blur of red, blue and gold. Wings flail helplessly as it tries to right itself—it's just like entry into the gravity well all over again, but this time without any of the protections for atmospheric entry!

Despite the flailing and the twisting, it does not have the necessary strength to resist the… whatever it was that just hit it, even as it attempts to fight for breath, regain its composure, regain its bearing, and above all, stop panicking. "…" It attempts to utter something in the well-executed barrel roll but the spin disorients it for a few moments more…

Superman's not sure if this being is friend or foe, but as the pair come out of the barrel roll, he decides to let the eagle-beast goal, giving it a chance to explain itself. Also, to check and see on its condition.

"Are you okay?" Superman says, giving it the benefit of the doubt. "That was pretty close," he adds, trying to be conversational.

Even with the tender care and caution the thing got a little bit dinged on the collision, but no limbs are broken, the wings appear to be in working order. In fact, as soon as it is released, the wings reflexively spring into action, holding it in relatively slow flight. It shakes its head and tests all of its limbs in an almost mechanical fashion before coughing a bit.

"Oh dear. My apologies, sir! This one did not see you there! This one was attempting to get out of the way of that big monster of an aircraft!"

Wait, it's apologizing for being run over? Is it from some Bizarro world?

"The more important question, sir, is 'Are YOU okay?' This one did not hurt you by accident?

"

Superman straightens and looks relieved. His cape droops and flaps in the breeze as he holds his hands on his hips. "Me?" Superman smiles. "I'm fine. Glad you're okay." Superman's been in a lot of interrogations and seen a lot of people put on shows. From his perspective, this guy looks confused; not evil.

"Who are you?"

The avianoid's tone has a definite tone of appreciation in it. "This one would be Corvinus, 'The' Corvinus if one were to be formal. It is the closest word in any of a number of languages that would approximate the meaning." It dips a bit to maintain a rough 'station', even as it tilts its head. "This one normally gets asked the question 'WHAT are you?', which as one can imagine is quite off-putting but the answer to the question is the same. Quid pro quo, who might you be, sir? My friend is trying to tell this one you're a super sort of person, which… seems to be rather redundant?"

Corvinus keeps all of its limbs in sight, and the tips of the talons on its forelimbs retract as it attempts to portray a stance of peaceful interaction while remaining in flight.

"Well," Superman responds, hating the sound of his name when it comes out in conversation. "Here, they call me Superman. Though I'm not originally from Metropolis, this is now my home." He motions down towards the lights of the airport below. Despite the fading sun, the light colored tarmac is still visible. "This is about the worst place in the world to fly for fun, Corvinus," he says.

"Well met, then, sir. This one can empathize all too well with the sensation, and this region is not the location that this one is originally from. This one lives over in New York City for now." It motions over towards the Big Apple.

"This one is starting to realize that yes, that is very much the case. It was not this one's intention to cause difficulty, harm, or trouble, simply to get a view of the most enlightened urban setting on the continent. This one admits that it was a bit of a focused effort and may have… well, gotten distracted."

Superman waves dismissively with a smile. "Hey, it's no problem. I'm just happy you didn't get hurt. And worse, didn't hurt a plane full of 200 people." He smiles softly. "It's been nice to meet you in any event Corvinus. Do me a favor and try and be more careful next time?"

"This one is glad that not only the plane was not damaged, the people on-board were not injured, but that you were not hurt, either. That would be a rather devastating thing to this one. There will come a time when we will need 'all hands on deck', as it were, and if we cannot have as many ready and set for that time, we will be in bad shape. It has been a pleasure to meet you, sir. My partner is requesting that this one get an… 'auto-graph' from you, but this one does not feel it is either the appropriate place nor the appropriate time for such."

The bird-being's tone is a bit mirthful at that last bit.

"Every day we all gain steps on our path of enlightenment. Today this one's step was 'Be more careful around major air-vehicle transportation hubs.' Thank you for enlightening me, sir."

Corvinus salutes the Man of Steel in the manner of an American sailor.

Superman chuckles and shakes his head. "Unfortunately I don't carry a pen on me. I'd be happy to give an autograph, but it looks like it will have to wait until next time." Superman gives another smile and a slight wave, "It was good to meet you. I'm sure we'll meet again."

Corvinus nods eagerly, bobbing about a bit in its flight. "This one has a pen in its pocketthat sounded inappropriate, did it not?but does not have anything to inscribe with it, sadly." There's that mirthful tone again, even as it glances downwards. "This one thanks you for the meeting and is certain we will meet again, as it will have to happen."

It gives a return wave and furls its wings slightly to drop like a stone out of the dangerous area for a good mile before cracking them out again and making its way back towards the Big Apple.